Kentucky Derby 2013: Final Work Notes

Kentucky Oaks - This race is going to be awesome. Beholder, Midnight Lucky, Close Hatches, Flashy Grey, and the presumptive favorite Dreaming of Julia all look really good and none seem to dislike the track.

Best:

• Midnight Lucky - 5f in 59.6. Looked really comfortable and all the twitterati watching the work absolutely loved it.
• Close Hatches - 4f in 47.4. She's been loving the Churchill dirt and has been working a hole in the wind. Watch out for this filly on Friday.
• Flashy Gray - 5f in 1:01.5. Good easy work for her. She's taken to the surface very well.

Just ok:

• Dreaming of Julia - Slow gallop for her. Just a maintenance work of 4f in 51.0 Maybe a touch TOO slow.

Kentucky Derby - There appears that there will be some movement and changes in the last 3-4 horses to make the gate pending a few announcements for Govenor Charlie et al.

Best:

• Verrazano - 5f in 59.4. Looked really comfortable coming from off the lead of his partner (who is a stakes mare).
• Revolutionary - Has been working inside of company on the rail to try to be more comfortable with Borel up, who will inevitably try to move on the inside. For me, his times are not as important as learning to run in traffic while saving ground. We'll see but Calvin was very positive.
• Palace Malice - 4f in 47.2. The addition of blinkers for the Derby should help him avoid the loss of interest like he had in the Blue Grass once he made the lead in the stretch. Looks very solid out there right now.
• Frac Daddy - 5f in 1:02.0. Time's not great, but he looks really good on the track. Really seems to move well over the dirt.
• Normandy Invasion - 5f in 59 flat. He's the trendy wise guy pick right now and he is living up to the hype.

Bad:

• Java's War - He looks like he can't stand the dirt. He's shaping up to be a turf/poly runner if you ask me.